Sisters of Charity Hospital, a member of Catholic Health, was among the top rated hospitals in New York State for hospital safety, according to a new study in the current issue of Consumer Reports.

The study combined six categories of hospital safety – infections, readmissions, communication, scanning, complications and mortality – to calculate a safety score between 1 and 100.

Sisters Hospital ranked 2nd in Western New York and 8th in New York State with a safety score of 52, just nine points below the state’s top rated hospital.

“Healthcare ratings will become increasingly more important as consumers begin to assess a hospital’s quality and safety to make decisions about where to seek care, but they are just one piece of the quality puzzle,” said Peter Bergmann, President & CEO of Sisters Hospital.

“Scores like those in the Consumer Reports study are a good starting point and validate the efforts we are making to improve quality, but people should also look at other quality report cards, as well as consult with their primary care physician, before making healthcare decisions.”

“We are striving to make Catholic Health ‘the healthcare system of choice for the informed consumer,’” said Dr. Brian D’Arcy, Senior Vice President of Medial Affairs for Catholic Health. “Through our efforts to improve quality and be more transparent in reporting this information, we want to be the place people turn to when seeking healthcare quality information.”

Catholic Health participates in a variety of publicly reported quality studies, as well as its own internal quality initiatives, to monitor and improve clinical quality and patient safety. It is also working with the Healthcare Association of New York State under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Partnership for Patients, a national initiative to advance the goals of better heath, better care and lower costs.

“Through all these efforts, we are continuously working to improve the care and service we provide our patients,” Dr. D’Arcy added.

In addition to the Consumer Reports study, Catholic Health encourages patients to go online to cms.gov, health.ny.gov, and HealthGrades.com for more complete hospital quality information.